PETALING JAYA: A drop in performance in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2025 examinations has prompted experts to call for better-equipped laboratories and enhanced teacher development.
National STEM Association president and founder Emerita Prof Datuk Dr Noraini Idris said greater emphasis should be placed on hands-on lab experience to help students fully understand STEM concepts in line with artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, and emerging career opportunities.
“Budgets should be properly allocated to equip laboratories – physics, chemistry and biology – so that science students can gain hands-on experience,” she said.
She also urged the Education Ministry to ensure students understand the importance of STEM in modern careers, particularly in analytics and AI.
“Teachers need retraining to keep up with these demands, and if the ministry acts decisively, we can prevent further declines,” said Noraini, who is also Universiti Malaya STEM Centre adviser and honorary professor.
The SPM 2025 results, released on March 31, showed declines in most core and STEM subjects, with Science among the four core subjects that recorded weaker performance.
Elective STEM subjects, including Pure Sciences and Additional Mathematics, saw declines of 0.02 to 0.15 points in Subject Average Grade, contributing to the 29 subjects that recorded a drop in performance.
Noraini warned that Malaysia risks losing its STEM talent in the long term if the decline continues.
“We already import experts in technology and analytics because our citizens lack programming and STEM skills,” she said, adding that this is a critical gap to address in the country’s AI and digital future.
UM Engineering Faculty Assoc Prof Dr Mas Sahidayana Mokhtar, who is also UM STEM Centre director, also called for prioritising improvements to science labs.
“STEM is about learning by doing; the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains are inseparable in this process.
“Rather than simply adding to the syllabus, we must focus on depth of instruction,” she said, adding that STEM initiatives must be continuous rather than one-off events.
Mas Sahidayana noted that motivation grows when students enjoy learning STEM subjects.
“By removing the mental blocks associated with these fields, especially Additional Mathematics, we can encourage higher enrolment and achievement.
“We must not lose hope if Additional Mathematics results are poor; instead, we should look towards the future, prioritise what is best for our students and continuously improve teaching methods through professional development,” she said.
UCSI University president and vice-chancellor Emerita Prof Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, who is the former Higher Education director-general, said fewer students are choosing science streams now than 20 years ago, and the country is far below its target of 60%.
“There is a pressing need for us to return to the source and start right from the foundation level,” she said, adding that if sweeping changes must be done, it should start at the primary school level.
She also stressed that the approach to STEM must be recalibrated, positioning it as an experiential pathway that sparks students’ curiosity from a young age.
“The learning journey must become more relatable – students must be able to see how STEM studies can address and solve real-world problems.
“For this to work, teacher upskilling must be done in earnest to meet the needs of 21st century students.
“At the same time, we must emphasise holistic education, celebrating the arts and promoting abstract thinking,” she said, adding that successfully integrating both the sciences and the arts will lead to steady improvements in outcomes.
Earlier, on March 16, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said during a media engagement that the ministry is actively pushing to achieve the 60:40 STEM ratio target.
She noted that the country has never achieved such a ratio.
“The closest we have come is just over 50%, but pure science still represents only 13%–14% of students,” she said.
